2012 Fiat 500: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 536 complaints
536
Total Complaints
46,000mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN
Top Issue
32
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

24,300 25th Percentile
46,000 Median Mileage
70,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN
192
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
55
ENGINE
51
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
35
AIR BAGS
32
SUSPENSION
21
STEERING
19
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
19
SERVICE BRAKES
12
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
12

Severity Assessment

32
Crashes
5
Fires
21
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THIS VEHICLE WAS RECENTLY AWARDED AN IIHS TOP PICK SAFETY AWARD, BUT ONLY FOR VEHICLES MANUFACTURED AFTER JULY, 2011, WHEN FIAT REDESIGNED THE SEATS FOR BETTER SIDE-IMPACT PROTECTION. I OWN A FIAT 500 MANUFACTURED BEFORE JULY, SO CLEARLY MY CAR IS NOT AS SAFE AS THOSE BUILT AFTERWARD. CAN NHTSA IN..."
"CAR WAS STALLING AND SHUTTING OFF. HAD MY DAUGHTER IN THE CAR. COULDN'T START THE CAR AFTER 3 ATTEMPTS. THEN AFTER WAITING A GOOD 3 MINUTES STARTED THE CAR AND REVVED THE ENGINE AT 4000 RPM AND EVERYTHING SEEMED BACK TO NORMAL. DEALER HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO DUPLICATE. *TR"
"CAR WAS STALLING AND SHUTTING OFF. HAD MY DAUGHTER IN THE CAR. COULDN'T START THE CAR AFTER 3 ATTEMPTS. THEN AFTER WAITING A GOOD 3 MINUTES STARTED THE CAR AND REVVED THE ENGINE AT 4000 RPM AND EVERYTHING SEEMED BACK TO NORMAL. DEALER HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO DUPLICATE. *TR"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28